1. I know I asked for Google Reader style, just the words and pictures. But I have a narrow template, and Google keeps the text, pictures and their captions in sequence. The new Blotanical reader compacts the post, detaching captions from pictures. I have changed to a short feed, but I feel this defeats the purpose. To be able to skim quickly, if you want to.

2. I miss 'your pick has been counted'

3. What do red/amber/blue hearts mean?

Yes, I have a question. Can the person I pick see how many hearts I chose?

A question more than a comment -- will we, at some point, be able to see how many points one of our own posts has accumulated, if any? Thanks.

Elephant's Eye - in response to your point #1: I'm not sure how to overcome this but will look into it. Offering short feeds may offer a strategic postive effect or it could lose you readers depends how Pickers view them.

The "Your Pick has been counted" has now been replaced by a much quicker update of the increased number of Picks.

Amber Hearts = hovering over them.
Red Hearts = The number you just picked
Blue Hearts = A consolidating number that you just picked.
Basically they have no "real" meaning.

Town Mouse - theoretically "No", however, it is possible if the number of Picks on a given post were slow then the blogger could figure it out. However, if you stick to the Picking legend I'm not sure that that will be a problem.

Nancy - once the My Posts page is updated you will be able to see the number of Picks you receive for a post plus the numbers will be shown at the end of the post title in the regular alphabetical lists.

Thanks for the quick reply -- I know you're still ironing out the wrinkles. :)

Dear Stuart

I put a lot of thought into the layout on my blogs . . . including the colour of the background; there is often important material in the sidebar too which relates to specific posts and needs to be read in co-ordination with them.

My blog looks terrible now on Blotanical. Even the pictures are re-arranged. I can't think anyone will want to come back to them. Ditto Lucy Corrander's http://looseandleafy.blogspot.com/.

Not only that, posts on my blogs and on Lucy's often follow on from the previous ones and only make sense if they can be read together - but the older posts option has gone missing.

I didn't comment on the new picks arrangement as I had been looking forward to simplification, not complication and, as I didn't want to be negative, I preferred to let it drift but . . . please may the integrity of our blogs be maintained in their Blotanical windows . . . please, Stuart, in re-arranging Blotanical, please don't rearrange and spoil our blogs too . . . please!

Esther

Hello Stuart, I was a bit reactionary when the picks tumbler was first mentioned (sorry!) so now I've taken a couple of days to look around and try to be a bit more measured! I wasn't at all keen on the new pick system and still hesitate to rank, but now I feel a bit mean not picking...so I'll give it a go. It will be interesting to see how the ratings work out.

A question - does the number of hearts showing on a post represent the last person's pick, or an average number of picks?

An error I noticed was when the 'frame' for a blogger was for a different blogger than the post I had clicked on.

I was a bit taken aback by the new display too, particularly as it seems to stick photo subtitles in the middle of text making me look even less literate than usual. I already click straight through to 'view normally' when looking at everyone else's blog, which is easy enough.

Another little glitch is that in the condensed WP posts, you still have a link if you want to leave a comment. In Blogger posts, that option doesn't exist (in condensed form). I'm not sure if this is anything you can change, or if it's just a proprietary thing. Just thought I'd mention it as I almost always like to leave a comment.

Overall I think the new system is working well. Because of abbreviated summary RSS feeds, and the derangements regarding blog layout with an RSS feed, I do appreciate the "view blog normally" button. It's an extra step, but as I have sufficient bandwidth, I'd rather read posts as written. Thanks for adding that button.

I do have a question. Under 'Picks' 'Mine', I see it is no longer tracking who has picked a post. This might just be a hiccup in the system that's still being refined? I assume at some point that will be restored? I only ask, because some of how we get to know other Blotanists is through communications (queries, questions or simple thanks for picking) via Blotanical. I don't always have time to thank pickers, but I do try, and feel it's a good way to stay in touch, especially with those that lurk and may not comment. Overall Stuart, Bravo!

I love the legend definitions and most especially that all the choices are positive ones. Very fun idea!

Esther - due to the number of comments I would get remarking how slow Blotanical's Picks was this new stream-lined process is here to stay. I plan to offer paying members the option of turning this off in the near future and reading blogs as they are normally displayed but that is still a little way off yet.

Heidi - the number of hearts showing on a post (if you've just landed on it) should represent the average. I'm not convinced it's working properly yet but am monitoring it to ensure its accuracy.

Cheers for the heads-up on the error re: wrong blogger/ wrong post. Working on it!

Also, I have just removed the formatting for images within posts so they should show as the feed dictates (ie as the blogger planned them to be)

Nancy - this is a blogger issue. I'm not sure whether in Blogger you can ensure that this link is inlcuded in the feed or not. Might be interesting to hear from some Blogger users to see if it can be and how to rectify if so.

Curbstone Valley Farm - haven't got to working on the Mine posts yet. They will be updated very soon but they're not showing yet.

Eliza - thanks!

I have enjoyed reading the internatiional blogs on blotanical. This new format doesn't allow the google translate to function. I select the "view normal" option and that won't translate as well. The "view normal really isn't normal at all. It is as though you are peeking at the page through a window. I really enjoyed seeing the blogs in full screen. In all, I'm not a fan of the changes, but I will exercise great patience in hoping it will get better.

Meredehuit - one of the features that I was hoping to provide with this update was a translation option. That is, if your native tongue is Spanish then you could opt to read every post in that language. Or, for us English speaking gardeners we could readily open any international post and read it in our native tongue.

Unfortunately, there were too many problems with achieving this (within the current time-frame) so that feature has gone on the backburner but I hope to offer it sometime in the near future.

As for the "view normal" it refers to viewing the post as it would normally have been shown in Blotanical. If you want to see the blogs in "full-screen" then you can click the "Read Blog in a New Tab" button. These two tools have remain unchanged - they just look a little different.

At the risk of a redundant comment I do want to reiterate what Nancy said. I have a Blogger blog and have noticed a substantial drop in commenting since the new system came online. I like to see the comments on my site and try to visit the bloggers who respond at theirs. If I can't see who is reading my posts I have no way to know where to go and end up going to the regular blogs I visit which I think is the opposite of what you want to accomplish. Granted people can choose to view normally but when you are trying to read multiple blogs that extra step turns into many extra steps.

As for load times I think the stripped feed is about the same as what I saw before. That may just be my connection though. I really preferred to see the actual blog rather than the feed.

On the picks, after the first few months of picking (I'm talking way on back in the beginning) I noticed that the picks overwhelming went to the same people. That's what you were trying to adjust. Not that they don't deserve to be picked, just that I think some others probably do to. Now it looks like those same people get 15-20 vs 1-5 on the smaller blogs. It seems the same just amplified. I know you've put a lot of work into this and I appreciate it but wouldn't a system based on the reads from Blotanical work well and be simpler? I know you've set a list from 1-5 with special definitions but people with only 1 pick are still going to feel that their post was lacking.

I hope that what I said is helpful and I do appreciate all the work you've put into making Blotanical.

Hi Stuart, One glitch I've noticed (it may just be a bit of code you haven't finished yet) is that I can now pick the same post multiple times. Sometimes I get distracted when I'm in the middle of blog reading, and when I come back, I can no longer remember if I've already picked a post. The old system would say "Your pick has already been counted" if I tried to pick the same post twice. This new system will just let me pick it again, and again, and again. Thanks for all your work on this. -Jean

Two more things that aren't working as you intended: (1) When you're in the picks screen and you click on "view in new tab," it doesn't take you to the full blog post in its original formatting in a new tab; instead it just copies the picks view in a new tab. (2) I haven't been able to get the "back to posts" button to work; it just keeps me where I am. I have to use the back button on my browser to get back to the list of posts.

Tx Stuart. The pictures now come where I put them in the text. Have reverted to full feed. With a little patience on our side, it is quite fun to dig away each day and see what works, again. Have just found my first New Picker to THANK!

Usually I can find the answer once I hear my own question. The reason some of us get 3 lines or nothing and the rest get the whole blog text and pics lies with the feeds. Atom shows all, RSS shows the few lines. Now I have to answer how the feeds are determined. One of my blogs sends RSS, the other Atom.

I miss 'your pick has been counted' Especially since I have been able to vote again, on posts I know I have picked before. Do you use the IP address? Our IP provider is constantly changing our IP address, so the cookies don't work on Posts from my faved blogs. That I can sort out for myself, but not so happy if we can pick again and again??

Dave - thanks for your comment-it's not redundant! The drop in comments is not directly related to the new system. Blotanical's visitors have been down somewhat due to the change and this is more likely the reason for the drop. I've noticed over the years that whenever a change is made it "scatters the birds to the four winds" so to speak but they will be back soon to check out how it's all working out.

If you have a fast internet connection then the difference will be quite minor for you. For those who don't, the difference is substantial.

As for the number of Picks themselves. As mentioned in previous posts we won't be going with the actual number of Picks as the filter for top posts. Instead, I'm working on - and getting very close to finishing - a new system that weights posts in favour of new and upcoming blogs. The top blogs will still show up but not as prominent, or as frequent, as they have in the past. Stay tuned.

Jean P & Elephants Eye - cheers for the glitch reports. I'll be onto them later today.

Nell Jean - your summation is almost right. It's not so much what type of feed that the blog is producing but what settings the blogger has used in setting up that feed. Most blogging platforms offer a choice of Full or Partial Feeds. Full will show the whole post while Partial will only show a few lines, at most.

You can check this to see what your blog is producing by clicking on the feed button within your blog or browser address bar.

I figured out the Feeds answer-- going to Settings in Blogger and Word Press allows one to select 'Full' or 'Full text' to allow the full feed. I made a post about it. This morning some of those who had limited feeds included Carol, Pam, Frances, Tina, Gwirrel, Dee, Tina and Randy.

Like the new picks system. (I'm confused by the coloured hearts, but I just give three to everyone, so that's OK.) However, my posts are only showing up in the alphabetical section (U-Z), not in any of the other lists, including my own! Last post that registered on my list was 21/04. I've done 4 since then, all of which have been picked, as far as I can see.

Victoria - this page hasn't been updated at the moment and possibly won't be until next week while I work on getting the others up and going.

I really really like the new heart system. It gives me pause for thought and I think more fairly rates the posts. I do like to reward my faved blogs but I am one who clicks thru all blog posts alphabetically (time permitting) and will read posts with titles that catch my interest. It is time consuming doing it this way but fun because you get to read new blogs. Sometimes I comment and sometimes not. Whether that blogger notices I
came by and read and perhaps picked matters not to me because the fun is in reading and learning IMHO. I don't even mind clicking thru to the blog to see it as it would normally be viewed. Ultimately each blogger must adapt and use Blotanical in a way that they can get something out of on their own. Thanks for a very nice new system. It's been working pretty fast for me. Good job Stuart.

Stuart, I did not realize all this discussion was going on . . . nor that we could actually pick right now. I am not quite myself, so have not been able to be on here much anyway. I want say that I very much like your new system. Brava!

Hi Stuart, I think this is a bug report. I was just picking posts from the "My Faved" picks list. When I went to pick Curbstone Valley's post, I noticed it said the post currently had "-7 picks." Then, after I was the first to pick Violet Fern's post, I got some weird code back, so I went back to the picks list to see if the pick had been counted. Had it ever!! The post was now listed as having "1091 picks"! -Jean

Stuart, as always, thank you for all that you do! I've been buried--and I do mean BURIED in work and just slipped in here on a Sunday morning to see what's new. I think the new system will work just fine. Some people will always complain about changes, or about things that aren't just as they want them to be. We seem to be an awfully immediate-gratification/self-centred society these days, and patience seems to be disappearing. This is odd to me in the gardening world, because as we all know, we can't have instant gardens. Anything worth having or worth doing takes time.

I would suggest that comments are down because it IS, after all, high spring for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere and we're madly gardening our butts off, leaving us less time for reading, writing, or commenting. It's cyclical, and it will pick up again as we get stuff planted, have a rainy day or three, or otherwise have some time to spend indoors reading rather than outside grubbing in the ground. :-)

It's all good.

I am seeing some blogs who cannot be given only one pick. The cursor will not hover over 1 heart but stops at the far left of the box with 2 hearts showing.

I thought I saw a pattern, but there are some exclusions to the pattern that I perceived.

Hi Stuart, I hope my issues are due to you working on the picks update. There have been no updates on my Mine page since the beginning of May, and I'm not receiving any messages. I know I've had some posts picked, but I have to really search to find this out. Will these issues go away through the magic of new code?

I love the feature of being able to send a message to someone right from the list of my picks. That saves a lot of time and clicks when I want to thank someone. Thanks for all the work you do to keep Blotanical a great place to visit.

We now need to check 'Mine New' for how many PickERS, then the alpha list for how many new hearts. Can we see the total number of hearts per post on 'Mine New' too please? Diana

Stuart I really owe you an apology. When you first mentioned the New Picks number details my first thought was 'horror' and I stated my objections to this new system quit vehemently. I automatically thought, now how am I going to judge someones postings and I surely did not want someone judging mine. But the wording of the numbered system is not what I thought it would be at all, thank goodness.
I have noticed though that when reading some of the blogs that the picture of the owner of the blog does not sometimes reflect the true owner. Sometimes things are getting crossed up. Now I am wondering if when we make picks on these posts with this problem where the points really go to?
I have saw in fact my photo ID on others blogs when going to the site. Since my points went really high at one time I feel that I have received points that were not really mine. My blog is just not that popular so there is a problem somewhere.
Have others reported this problem or noticed?
Thanks again for your hard work and please except my apologies.
Lona

@ Lona -- I'm still noticing the same little glitch, too, but figured it's something Stuart is probably working on. But it's not just you. :)

There is still a glitch in the new picks. We ask for say 3 hearts, and we get say 5 hearts. Have to check that the amber hearts reflect what we want. Or refresh and try again. We cannot go back and say, Wait, I asked for 3. I said THREE. Too late!

I know you are still working on this, Stuart, but I wanted to mention, besides thank you, that I cannot leave a comment on the blogger blogs from blotanical. One used to be able to click on the name of the blog to get out of the feed system to view the blog as posted, then leave a comment. Now I have to see the post, then go to my own sidebar to click on the blog. This takes way too much time. Can you suggest anything to help me?
Frances

Frances, you can click on the "Read in New Tab" button to achieve this without having to go back to your sidebar.

Hi, Stuart. I believe all of my comments have been mentioned already, and many have been "fixed". So, I'll simply thank you for your hard work and all of your efforts!

Are the popular pages still being worked on? My latest post has 23 picks but isnt on the popular page, although others with much lower totals are

Thanks

Hi Stuart - I'm still finding my blotanical feet and have just discovered the list of my posts that have been picked. Just want to know what the checkboxes and submit erroneous posts button means.

many thanks for this community of gardeners and all the ways to meet others here

Laura

I miss being able to see who did the picking so I can thank them. Otherwise, I really like the new system. Good going.

I'd like to Pick but simply can't work it out. Is it under construction? is it just not well explained? am I looking in the wrong place? is there a secret page known only to those who have favourite-d over 100 blogs (can't seem to do that either!)? can I be bothered to slog through any longer?

I'm sure once this is mastered it would be very interesting .....

Rosalind, I'm not sure what the issue is. No, Picks is no longer under construction. It may be not explained well - and for that I apologise. But, Picks is quite simple to grasp.

The idea is - you click on the Picks tab and then you're given a plethora of different list of posts to go and view. For example, click on the "G" list in the secondary navigation bar and it will show all the posts by bloggers with blogs beginning with the letter "G". Find a title that interests you and click on it. This then shows you their post and allows you to rate it with a series of hearts. There you go, you've Picked a post - very simple.

Now that you've done one, go and do some more and you'll become a natural Picker in no time.

All the best.